ISO 10472-5:1997

Overview

ISO 10472-5:1997 - Safety requirements for industrial laundry machinery - Part 5: Flatwork ironers, feeders and folders defines safety requirements and design guidance specific to flatwork ironers (bed and cylinder ironers), automatic feeders and folding machines used in industrial laundering. It complements the common requirements in ISO 10472-1 and gives designers practical state-of-the-art measures to reduce hazards such as drawing-in, entanglement, burns, noise and control-system failures.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope and machine types: Covers cylinder and bed ironers (contact area > 0.25 m²), flatwork feeding machines, folding machines (including small-piece folders) and multi‑function units that combine feeding, ironing and folding.
• Hazard identification: Systematic listing of mechanical, electrical, thermal, noise, fire/explosion, fumes, ergonomic and fluid-ejection hazards specific to flatwork ironers, feeders and folders.
• Mechanical safeguarding: Requirements for guarding in-running nips, feedbands and rollers; examples include hinged trip guards, fixed guards and interlocks. Specific provisions noted in the standard:
  • Maximum gap examples (e.g., 18 mm for certain hinged trip plates on single-roller ironers up to 6 m/min).
  • Requirements for stopping times (roller stop as fast as possible but within 5 s at maximum speed in some cases).
  • Special provisions for reverse-running machines and release procedures for entrapped persons.
• Thermal and fire risks: Measures to prevent burns from heated beds/rollers, reduce workplace heat radiation and address ignition risks for gas- or oil-heated equipment.
• Electrical, noise and ergonomic risks: Guidance to meet IEC/EN machine electrical safety, noise control for vacuum devices on feeders, and ergonomic design of feeding/folding workstations.
• Risk assessment and verification: Designers should apply ISO/TR 12100 series and EN 1050 risk assessment principles and verify safety measures during design and commissioning.

Applications and who uses this standard

• Primary users: Machine designers, manufacturers and safety engineers of industrial laundry equipment (iron-press lines, commercial laundries, textile finishing plants).
• Other users: Facilities managers, installation contractors, conformity assessors and regulatory compliance teams who need to apply or verify machine safety measures.
• Practical use cases: Designing guarded nip zones, integrating interlocked feeders, specifying emergency release procedures, preparing instruction handbooks, and conducting risk assessments for flatwork finishing lines.

Related standards

• ISO 10472-1 (Common requirements)
• ISO/TR 12100-1/2 (Machine safety concepts and principles)
• ISO 13852 (Safety distances)
• ISO 14119 (Interlocking devices)
• EN 953, EN 1050, EN 60204-1, IEC household appliance safety standards

ISO 10472-5:1997 is essential for safe design and compliance of industrial laundry flatwork machinery, providing targeted requirements to manage mechanical, thermal and operational risks.